A look at Kenya's representatives in Paris 2024 Paralympics

The 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France kicked off on Wednesday 28 August and Kenya has sent 13 of her best athletes to raise the country's flag in the World tourney.

Kenya will be hoping to have a better performance than they had in Tokyo in 2020, where the country only managed one medal, a bronze medal won by Nancy Chelagat.

To move on from that disappointing performance, the country will be banking on the 13 individuals to bag some medals after months of preparations by the Kenya National Paralympics Committee (KNPC).

Mozzart Sport looked at the 13 athletes in brief even as they compete in Paris that will feature about 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations. Dennis Muga is Team Kenya’s head of delegation.

Samwel Mushai- Men’s 5000m -T11

Muchai who lost his eyesight at the age of nine is one of the experienced members of the team and will also serve as the Captain.

Mushai, who will be making his fourth appearance in the games, has three paralympics medals to his name.

He won a silver medal in the 1500m T11 at 2008 Beijing Paralympics, gold on the same in 2012 in a world record of 3:58:37, and a gold medal in the 5000m T11 in Rio, 2016.

He will be looking forward to reclaim his title in Paris, having missed the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics due to injury.

Nancy Chelagat - Women's 1500m T11

Chelagat Koech won Kenya’s only medal in Tokyo in 2020, a bronze and will be making her third appearance in the games.

The 29-year-old, who was born in the green town of Kericho, also got a silver medal in Rio 2016, and will therefore be looking forward to continuing with the trend.

She also won gold at the World Championships in Paris in 2013, and Bronze in the 2019 World Para Athletics in Dubai.

Team Kenya turns focus to Paralympic Games

Asiya Sururu- PR1 Women's Singles Sculls

She made her first paralympic appearance in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, becoming the first Kenyan female rower to compete at the Paralympics.

She also plays wheelchair tennis, badminton, sitting volleyball, chess, scrabble, darts, javelin and shot put, but majors on para-rowing which she will compete in in Paris.

She will start her game on Friday, 30 August.

Hellen Wawira - Power Lifting up to 41 kgs

The 32-year-old who has Spina bifida, a congenital malformation of the spine, will be looking to at least bring a medal home.

She finished fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

At the 2022 commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, she won bronze in the lightweight event.

Paralympic Games: Hellen Wawira eyes major breakthrough in Paris

Sheila Wanyonyi - Women's Javelin Throw- F13

The African Javelin silver medalist will be coached by Joseph Mosonik, Julius Yego’s coach and is targeting a podium finish in Paris.

Stency Neema- Taekwondo K44- 52kg

Neema, 22, will be making her debut in the games in Paris with her first match on Thursday 29 August against Egyptian Ali Hassan Salma.

Julieta Lenuge Moipo- Taekwondo K44- 57kg

The 22-year-old will also make her debut in Paris with her first match scheduled for Friday 30 August at Grand Palais against Micev Marija of Serbia.

John Lokedi - Men’s 5000m- T13

23-year-old Lokedi will be making his debut in the Paralympics games in the partially blind class.

He will be out there to try and come back home with at least a medal.

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Samson Opiyo Ojuka - Men’s Long jump- T37

The 28-year-old Kenyatta University Alumnus who started the games while in the university and made debut for Kenya in 2019.

He won a silver medal in the T37 200m and a bronze in the T37 100m at the 2019 International Athlete Meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco.

He is coached by Steve Wesonga and will also be working hard to come out of the games with a medal.

Prisca Jepkemoi- Women's 1500m- T11

She competed in the 200m, 400m, 1500m- T11 in the World Para Championships in Kobe, Japan.

Together with her guide Kenneth Lagat, they will have their eyes set on a Paralympic medal.

Mary Njoroge- Women's 1500m- T11

The 40-year-old Nakuru born athlete is the oldest of the lot in Paris, and will be hoping that her experience will count for a medal having won Bronze in Paris in 2023.

Wesley Sang- Men's 1500m- T46

Sang who is the team's ‘prayer warrior’ completed and finished sixth in the men's 1500m- T46 in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.

Kennedy Ogada- Para Cycling Road

Ogada will be hoping for a podium finish in Paris even though he lost his pilot, Benson Mwaniki through injury after he was involved in an accident in Paris and fractured his shoulder and spine.

Cyclists with visual impairment ride in tandem with a sighted guide, known as pilot.

The team is in the process of finding another pilot for him.

It is these 13 athletes that the country will be banking on to see if they can make a better performance than the country has seen since 2008 in Beijing when Kenya won nine medals; five gold, three silver and one bronze.